


Sometimes it's the small things

by hkandi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Haruno Sakura Bashing, Hinata is a cool cookie, In a way but still wanted to let you know, Trying to figure out this thing called life, Trying to get a date, Uchiha Sasuke Needs a Hug, some fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24296032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hkandi/pseuds/hkandi
Summary: Sasuke spends time watching, looking, noticing.One day he notices Hinata, and his life isn't really the same after that.Will she return his interest?
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 19
Kudos: 178
Collections: Exchange no Jutsu 2020





	Sometimes it's the small things

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dakeyras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dakeyras/gifts).



> For @dakeyras as part of the Exchange No Jutsu. Hope you like it!

(I don't own any characters etc etc)

For all that people say that Sasuke is moody, emo, keeps to himself, and is focused on revenge, they don't pick up on one main thing about Sasuke.

He notices. 

He notices a lot.

People. Places. Things. Events. Interactions.

Pretty much everything.

He of course notices Sakura and how much she focuses on him. He notices how this interferes with her own training, not that she seems aware of it. Hopefully she will, one day.

He notices that their blond teammate is focused on her, when he's not focused on getting one over on Sasuke. But then again, Naruto wears blinders often.

Sasuke also notices that Hinata seems to be the only young female shinobi in the village who does not seem focused on Sasuke himself.

This naturally catches and keeps his attention.

Over time, he notices that Hinata is in fact focused on Naruto, but then again, Naruto is focused on a) himself, b) fighting Sasuke, and c) Sakura, so why would he focus on the Hyuuga girl?

Well, Naruto doesn't exactly ignore the shy girl, but he doesn't pick up on her attention. Fortunately he doesn't seem to be purposely ignoring her, and so she appears to continue.

Sasuke notices this, and it intrigues and puzzles him.

He decides to notice her more.

How nice she is, how friendly she is to others.

How much her team likes her, not that he values the opinion of that Inuzuka mutt much, but he'll take it into consideration.

How similar she and Sasuke are....both from troubled families. That people are both proective and devoted to them, and neither always feels worthy of it.

He notices more during the chuunin exams, but then everything changes, and over time she becomes just a whisper in his mind, a thing of the past.

He focuses on his training with Orochimaru, but at night, pale eyes and a kind face come to him in his dreams.

He thinks about her when he meditates, when he trains.

He notices flowers in fields that match her eyes, fabric in a village that would look nice in her hair.

He can't help but wonder what she looks like now that some time has passed and both of them are older.

Given her clan and title, he knows he would have heard if something major had happened to her, if she had been killed in action or anything, and so takes solace in the silence.

________

When he reunites with his team, Sasuke notices little has changed.

Naruto is still focused on him, as is Sakura, and he grows weary of it.

Eventually, after many fights, blood shed, earth torn apart, Sasuke returns to Konoha and reintegrates.

He notices things about the village all over again, some good, some not so good.

He is older, more mature, not the young boy he once was.

This, too, brings more attention to him, and he has his fan girls all over again.

He is only interested in one face, especially now that he sees his old team so often.

Sasuke tries to look out for her, to see even a glimpse, but is not successful until he goes to Ichiraku's with Naruto and Sakura one night. 

It had been a while since he was there, and they said they were "getting the gang together."

Normally he would wince at those words, but tonight they held hope for him.

He arrived late, and is greeted by a boisterous Naruto, and an overly flirty Sakura. 

He has noticed Ino being attentive to Sai, and is grateful he has lost one fan girl.

"There's a seat here, Sasuke-kun," Sakura says, batting her eyelashes at him and patting a seat next to her.

Sasuke hums and his eyes move around the long table their friends are sat at, until he sees another empty seat.

"I'll sit down there, it's near a window and fresh air," he says, which is true. Well, true, but not the only reason.

No, it is largely chosen because it is near Her.

He drops down into the seat next to Hinata, who turns to see who has joined them.

Her eyebrows raise, clearly surprised by him, and she gives him a small smile.

"H-hello, Sasuke."

He nods at her, and looks across the table where Kiba sits, frowning slightly at him.

"Mutt," Sasuke says to him in greeting.

"Uchiha asshole," Kiba replies. "Why are you over here?"

Sasuke shrugs. "It's better company."

He sees Kiba roll his eyes, and Hinata smiles softly.

Sasuke initially wonders if it will be awkward to be next to her, but her soft voice soothes him.

Before he knows it, he's engaged in a discussion with Hinata, Kiba, and Choji. If you would have told him about this years ago, he would have sneered at it, but now, it feels...appropriate.

Later he will reflect on it and remember that it felt calmer than when he spends time with Naruto and Sakura. It's more...easygoing.

In that moment at dinner, Hinata, he notes, actively participates in the discussion, as an actual discussion. Not as Sakura would do, trying to focus only on him. Hinata, unlike many other women who interact with him, doesn't bow down to him and his opinions, nor anyone else's, and stands fast on her own, but remains open minded to others' views.

She's certainly grown, Sasuke thinks. Though perhaps he never really knew this side of her.

No matter. He wants to know all sides of her.

Sasuke knows Sakura is staring at his end of the table, and he hopes Naruto will reclaim her attention.

When the dinner eventually ends, the group parts ways. Sakura asks him to walk her home, but he points out they live in opposite directions, and so he sets off without waiting for a response.

Hinata happens to be heading the same way, and is quite a distance ahead.

Sasuke flickers to move closer to her and calls out her name.

She turns, surprised, and smiles at him.

"I'll walk with you," he says, not really asking her if he can. "I'm going the same way."

Hinata nods, and they walk in silence.

He hopes that it is comfortable silence for her, as for him, it is filled with nerves and anxiety.

Nerves and anxiety around a woman, is this what it's like? He never really experienced it before. He only ever felt annoyance towards his fan girls, and at times appreciation for Sakura, when she wasn't being fully annoying.

"I'm turning down here," Hinata suddenly says, breaking him out of his thoughts. He realizes they've come to an intersection and she's motioning towards the opposite way he needs to go.

"Have a good night," Hinata says.

"Wait," Sasuke hears his voice call out, his brain not quite catching up. "Have dinner with me?"

Hinata smiles softly and tilts her head just so. Her new, longer hair (well, new to him), sways at this motion, and dances in the soft night breeze.

"We just had dinner," she says, and he wants to run away, mortified at how un-Sasuke he feels.

"Tomorrow," he says. "Or the next night. Whenever you're free...."

She smiles again. "Tomorrow, then."

"Great," Sasuke says, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual. He looks around quickly. "Meet here at six?"

She nods. "I'll see you then, Sasuke."

The way she says his name dances in his mind, in his body, and he watches her walk away.

All those years her image remained in his brain, they don't hold a light to how she is now. Grown. Mature. Confident. Nice to him, but not in a way like the others. Not seeking something from him, but....genuine?

Sasuke's not used to people, women, being genuine with him. Not just having their own interests and desires at the forefront.

He thinks about their interaction over and over that night in bed, and it eventually lulls him to sleep.

It's one of the best sleeps he's had in some time.

________

The next day, he makes preparations, spends time figuring out every detail.

Who knew planning a date involved so much?

Sasuke can't help but think of all his fan girls and how they obsessed over every little thing he did, and now thinks of how exhausting it must have been for them.

He doesn't feel he's worth it, but Hinata, she is.

He decides that a restaurant is too public. He doesn't want to be seen, doesn't want others to see them out on a date. Not that he's ashamed, but he wants to keep their time together to himself.

If Hinata is single, why should he make others aware of it?

No, he doesn't want competition. Especially since she and Naruto seem to have never became a thing.

His loss. He can have Sakura, they can be loud and annoying together.

A picnic, then, Sasuke decides. They can go somewhere more private.

He realizes later he doesn't know what kinds of foods Hinata likes. Does she have allergies?

Once upon a time, Sasuke wouldn't have cared. He was focused on other things. Who needed to know such trivial matters? Especially if it wasn't really relevant to him and his mission.

Now, it seems like one of the most important things he could know, should know. 

Not having anyone to turn to for help, he goes slightly overboard to have a variety of options. Different flavors. Spicy, not spicy. Some sweet items.

He noticed at dinner she ordered pork ramen, so he makes sure to have a pork dish. And seaweed salad, she ate some last night as well. 

He makes sure there is nothing in the meal that could remind her of someone else, and certainly no pink and white fishcake.

Satisfied, he gets everything into a cliche picnic basket and seals it in a scroll, and leaves to meet her.

Hinata is early, he sees, and notices she is wearing what appears to be her new standard uniform, of sorts. It suits her more than what she wore when they were younger, but then again, he himself has changed his attire.

He hopes she likes it.

"Hello," she greets him, a small smile on her face.

His stomach jumps at that smile, his heart races.

His voice, however, betrays him, and he nods.

"Uh...ready?" he asks, and she frowns slightly but smiles again and nods.

They set off, him leading the way.

He remembers to ask how her day was, and this fortunately sets her off on sharing big and little events.

Her voice is soothing to his ears, and calms his nerves.

They stop at a soft patch of grass in a fairly secluded part of a park, and Sasuke takes out the scroll.

Deciding to show off a little (he is an Uchiha after all), he flicks his wrist and the scroll unravels, dances, and a picnic basket and blanket gently fall to the ground.

"A picnic?" Hinata coos. "How nice!"

His nerves settle more, and they begin to take out food and eat.

She gently laughs at him, how many options he brought, and his face heats up.

He can't blame it on the sun, so he tells himself it's due to spicy food he just ate.

Hinata actually draws out conversation from him, but then again, she did that last night, so he shouldn't be surprised.

A picnic was a good idea indeed. They have privacy, and it feels like everything in the world is just them, there.

He realizes she has asked him a question.

"What?" he asks.

"I asked what you will tell Sakura if she asks about this."

He shrugs. "It's none of her business who I go on dates with."

She blushes. "She quite likes you."

"I don't like her in that way," he replies. "I thought you liked Naruto?"

It's petty to throw it back on her, especially on their first date, but he can't help himself.

She glances away, and he studies her profile.

"I did," she says softly. "It wasn't....he...." She smiles softly, still looking away. "I changed." She looks at him. "So, this is a date?"

Sasuke's brow furrows. "Isn't it?"

Didn't he do everything right?

Hinata laughs. "I was just checking, just teasing. I like it. I'm having fun, and you were very thoughtful."

Sasuke preens at her praise. "I tried. Glad you're having a good time."

"Next time I'll pack the basket," she offers.

He raises an eyebrow. 

"Unless you don't want..." she says.

"I'd like that," he offers. "Though, we clearly don't need so much food."

Hinata laughs again. "Deal. Just enough for the two of us."

The two of them, Sasuke thinks.

He likes the sound of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback and suggestions welcomed!
> 
> Let's connect, I'm on [tumblr](https://hkandiu.tumblr.com/)


End file.
